What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6)
Sometimes when we get settled into salvation, we can begin to get too comfortable and complacent. Our "celebration of grace" can lead to a false sense that "I can really do whatever I want to because God has forgiven it all." But that flies in the face of the basis of our salavation: the resurrection of Christ. He did not rise into death, leading us into a life of sin, but unto new life. Also, God's grace does not increase - especially through any action of ours. It is full and endless, and we do not get "more of it" by any of our works, good or bad. We experience more of it when we trust in Christ, and willfully sinning is not living by faith. The bottom line is this: if we have new life by trusting in the risen Christ, the only thing we should be thinking is how we can live this life by loving faith and obedience.
No comments:
Post a Comment